King Charles cancer diagnosis: Health issues monarch has faced over the years

Published

2 years ago

February 6, 2024

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The King has begun treatment for a cancer diagnosed following his treatment for an enlarged prostate.

He will now undergo a schedule of regular treatments, during which he has been advised by doctors to postpone public-facing duties.

Buckingham Palace has not confirmed what type of cancer the King has.

Follow live: King chose to share diagnosis to ‘prevent speculation’

Here are some of the previous health issues the King has faced.

Enlarged prostate

The King’s health has been in the spotlight already this year.

On 17 January, he was diagnosed with a benign condition while staying at Birkhall in Aberdeenshire, after going for a check-up because he was experiencing symptoms.

He underwent surgery for the enlarged prostate, and it is understood he wanted to share the news to encourage other men to get themselves checked.

The NHS reported huge boosts in people asking to find out more about the condition affecting the King.

The King, who only acceded to the throne 16 months ago, cancelled engagements and was urged to rest by his doctors ahead of the corrective procedure.

One in every three men over the age of 50 will have symptoms of an enlarged prostate, which include needing to visit the toilet more frequently, with more urgency, and difficulty emptying the bladder.

An enlarged prostate, known as benign prostatic hyperplasia, does not usually pose a serious threat to health, and it is not cancer.

Early polo injuries

In one of his earlier polo-related injuries, he was thrown and kicked by his pony and needed six stitches in 1980.

He suffered a two-inch crescent scar on his left cheek after that incident.

He was also hit in the throat on another occasion, causing him to lose his voice for 10 days.

The monarch resisted pressure to give up polo after he collapsed in 1980 at the end of a game in Florida and had to be put on a saline drip.

Avalanche near-miss

In 1988, while skiing off-piste at Klosters on one of Europe’s most dangerous runs, he narrowly escaped an avalanche that killed his good friend Major Hugh Lindsay, who was a former equerry to Queen Elizabeth II.

He jumped to a ledge and helped save the life of another friend, Patti Palmer-Tomkinson, by digging her out of snow and keeping her conscious until a helicopter arrived.

He would later say he had never seen anything so terrifying.

Knee surgery

In March 1998, the King – then Prince Charles – had laser keyhole surgery on his right knee.

That came six years after an operation to repair torn cartilage in his left knee after a polo injury.

The outdoor and active Prince of Wales also suffered from back pain at the time, which had been aggravated over years of playing polo.

He never travelled on royal tours without a special cushion, usually a tartan one, which he used to ease back pain.

Broken rib

In the same year, he broke a rib when he fell from his horse in a hunting accident.

Double arm break

The King has over the years had some form for falling from his horse in a polo game.

In June 1990 he broke his arm in two places and spent three nights in Cirencester Memorial Hospital in Gloucestershire after an accident in a competitive game of polo.

When he left hospital, he was reported to have told journalists outside “you can all go home at last”, as he got into his car.

He needed another operation three months later after one of the fractures didn’t properly heal.

It is understood bone was taken from his hip to help with healing the break, while a metal plate was also fitted with screws.

Shoulder fracture

In January 2001, he fractured a bone in his shoulder after falling off his horse during a fox hunt in Derbyshire.

He had to wear a sling for several days while the fracture healed.

Knocked unconscious

Just a few months later, in August, he was taken to hospital as a precautionary measure for what was described as a minor injury.

But he had been knocked unconscious when his horse threw him during a polo match, leading to him being stretchered off and taken by ambulance.

It is reported he fell halfway through the second half of a charity polo match in Cirencester in Gloucestershire.

Hernia operation

Two years later, in March 2003, the King had a routine operation for a hernia, and reportedly joked afterwards “hernia today, gone tomorrow”.

It’s not clear how he picked up the injury, which is a common operation.

Growth removed

In 2008, he had a non-cancerous growth removed from the bridge of his nose in a routine procedure.

Catching COVID

In March 2020, the monarch, then 71, caught COVID before vaccinations were available.

His symptoms were mild and he isolated at Birkhall.

He lost his sense of taste and smell for a time, and later described it as “strange, frustrating and often distressing” being without friends and relatives over lockdown.

He was infected for a second time in February 2022, but at that point he was triple-vaccinated.

Appendix operation

In one of his earliest known admissions to hospital, the young prince was rushed to Great Ormond Street Hospital for an appendix operation as a 13-year-old in February 1962.

He declared on a later visit: “I got here just in time before the thing exploded and was happily operated on and looked after by the nurses.”

Big fingers

Concern has been expressed over the years at his big fingers amid fears they might be due to fluid build-up or other conditions.

While any details around the cause – if any exist – have not been made public, the King has been aware of his puffy fingers for decades.

“He really does look surprisingly appetising and has sausage fingers just like mine,” he wrote in 1982 to a friend after the birth of his first son, William.

UK

Starmer to announce formal recognition of Palestine as a state

Published

7 hours ago

September 21, 2025

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Starmer to announce formal recognition of Palestine as a state

The UK will formally recognise Palestine as a state, it is understood.

Sir Keir Starmer is expected to make the announcement on Sunday after he said in July that the government would make the move unless Israel met certain conditions.

The prime minister had called on Benjamin Netanyahu’s government to take substantive steps to end the “appalling situation in Gaza“, agree to a ceasefire, commit to a long-term sustainable peace, allow the UN to restart the supply of aid, and not annex the West Bank.

The Israeli foreign ministry furiously rejected his statement, with Mr Netanyahu claiming that “Starmer rewards Hamas‘s monstrous terrorism and punishes its victims”.

Ilay David, brother of Hamas hostage Evyatar David, who was seen emaciated in a video last month, said giving recognition was “like saying to Hamas: ‘It is OK, you can keep starving the hostages, you can keep using them as human shields.’

“This kind of recognition gives Hamas power to be stubborn in negotiations. That is the last thing we need right now.”

There has been no ceasefire, and the situation in Gaza has deteriorated, with a declaration of a famine in Gaza City and the expansion of Israeli military operations.

Israel has launched a major ground offensive to seize all of Gaza City and destroy Hamas in an operation which has prompted widespread condemnation, with UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper calling it “utterly reckless and appalling”.

Earlier this month, a UN commission of inquiry concluded that Israel has committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. Israel said the claim was “distorted and false”.

The UK will join 147 of the 193 members of the UN who recognise Palestine ahead of the UN General Assembly in New York on Monday.

Other nations, including France, Australia and Canada, have said they plan to take the same step at the UN gathering as part of a broad international effort to put pressure on Israel.

During a joint news conference with the prime minister at Chequers on Thursday, Donald Trump said he disagreed with recognition, and US politicians have urged the UK and other allies to reverse their stance.

Sky News understands that Israel is considering options in response to the UK’s decision, but the strength of that reaction is still under consideration.

Family members of some of the 48 hostages still in captivity, after Hamas and other militant groups stormed into Israel on 7 October 2023, have written an open letter to Sir Keir, condemning the move.

“Hamas has already celebrated the UK’s decision as a victory and reneged on a ceasefire deal,” they said.

“We write to you with a simple plea – do not take this step until our loved ones are home and in our arms.”

The UK government is understood to be looking at further sanctions on Hamas, and has demanded the group release all hostages, agree to an immediate ceasefire, accept it will have no role in governing Gaza, and commit to disarmament.

UK

Heathrow among major airports hit by delays after cyber attack

Published

10 hours ago

September 20, 2025

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Heathrow among major airports hit by delays after cyber attack

Heathrow was among a number of major airports across Europe hit by delays after a suspected cyber attack that targeted a service provider for check-in and boarding systems.

The “technical issue” affecting Collins Aerospace, which provides check-in and boarding services for various airlines, resulted in 14 flights being cancelled at Brussels Airport on Saturday, and several more being delayed at London Heathrow, Berlin, and Dublin, among others.

‘Very clever cyber attack’ cancels flights in Europe – latest

Passengers have reported being unable to check in online, instead queuing for hours for staff to deal with them manually at desks and departure gates, only to be told their flights are not taking off.

Helen Steel, 49, left Dorset for Heathrow at 3am to travel home to Oslo, with her cat Thomas – but was “shouted at by staff” who told her she would not be able to fly until Sunday.

Describing the situation as an “absolute nightmare”, she said: “I’ve got an animal here, so I’m very concerned about his welfare.

“I’ve been shouted at twice and I broke down in tears because I was worried about him. None of us have had any information whatsoever. Whenever we ask ground staff, they shout at us.”

Ms Steel says she spent two hours in the queue on the phone to customer service and is now having to find a hotel to stay in overnight.

Sam arrived at Heathrow expecting to drop his girlfriend off for her flight to Rio de Janeiro – but was still at the airport seven hours later.

When they arrived, it was “chaos everywhere”, he told Sky News, with “nobody seeming to know what was going on”.

The couple say they were not told about the cyber attack by airport staff, finding out about it online instead.

After queuing for three hours, they made it to the front, only to be told the plane was not taking off, he adds.

“Her flight was at 8.40am and it was held back until 10.15am. At 10.10am they sent everyone away and told them to contact the airline. But there are no representatives for any airlines whatsoever. It’s been a bit of a farce.

“Nobody knew where they were going – and they were sending people left, right, and centre.

“She’s going tomorrow now, but we’ve got to find a hotel, and no one is here to give us any hotel vouchers. They just give you a piece of paper and say ‘you’ve got to pay for it yourself’.”

‘Insane queues’ and ‘skeleton staff’

Passenger Tereza Pultarova waited around 10 hours at Heathrow after she arrived at 4.30am for her flight to Cape Town via Amsterdam.

“We were kind of stranded here because KLM wasn’t able to issue us boarding passes digitally, and requested us to collect them at the check-in desk,” she said.

“And then they told us that there is some sort of global issue with the system they’re using for check-in and boarding, and they have to do everything manually. So then they were checking in people at the rate of, like, one person per 10 minutes.

“I’m not exaggerating. It was just insane, the queue wasn’t moving. And then suddenly they said, ‘Oh, the flight will be departing, we’re closing the gate’.

Maria Casey was due to fly to Thailand with Etihad Airways – but had to wait three hours to drop off her luggage at Heathrow, with staff taking between five and 10 minutes to deal with each passenger.

“The queues are terrible,” she told Sky News. “It was an absolute skeleton staff. Out of six of the desks there were probably two people”.

A Heathrow spokesperson advised people to arrive no more than three hours early for a flight and apologised for any inconvenience.

It is understood British Airways at Terminal 5 remains unaffected and is operating as normal.

Collins Aerospace said it is working to resolve the issue as soon as possible.

“We have become aware of a cyber-related disruption to our Muse (Multi-User System Environment) software in select airports, the firm said in a statement.

“The impact is limited to electronic customer check-in and baggage drop and can be mitigated with manual check-in operations. We are actively working to resolve the issue and restore full functionality to our customers as quickly as possible.”

UK

‘Delighted to be free’: Elderly British couple who were detained by Taliban arrive in UK

Published

11 hours ago

September 20, 2025

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'Delighted to be free': Elderly British couple who were detained by Taliban arrive in UK

An elderly British couple who have arrived back in the UK after being detained in a maximum security Taliban prison are “delighted to be free”, their son has told Sky News.

Barbie Reynolds, 76, and her husband Peter, 80, were arrested in February after spending decades in Afghanistan, where they have dual citizenship.

They had been held without charge before being released from detention on Friday and flown to Qatar, where they were reunited with their daughter, before flying back to Heathrow Airport on Saturday.

The couple’s son, Jonathan Reynolds, told Sky News: “They’re just delighted to be free… they’re very excited to see their kids and grandkids and great grandkids, people they’ve just been wanting to catch up with and wondered if they’d ever see them again.”

Jonathan, who spoke to his parents from Wyoming in the US in a FaceTime call with some of his siblings, said: “I’ve seen photographs of them in hospital beds getting checked. I’ve seen them having full English breakfasts. So they’re jumping on that.”

He described some of the conditions his parents had been kept under in a “big maximum security prison with thousands of inmates”.

“My dad described being handcuffed or chained to other criminals. And, one point he had his chest hairs ripped out,” he said.

“He was hit in the head. And, then they were moved, to more of a safe house.”

But Jonathan said his parents retained their British politeness even when calling him from a payphone in the prison yard, with his dad asking: “Is now a good time?”.

“It was totally, ‘Yeah, not too bad. Where’s the queue to get out of here?'”

The UK government advises British nationals not to travel to Afghanistan.

Abdul Qahar Balkhi, a spokesperson at the Taliban government’s foreign ministry, said in a statement posted on X that the couple “violated Afghan law” and were released from prison after a court hearing.

He did not say what law the couple were alleged to have broken.

Sky correspondent Cordelia Lynch was at Kabul Airport as the freed couple arrived and departed.